Campground Reservations

Let everyone know about your camping experience in the park.

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Jay w
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Re: Campground Reservations

Post by Jay w »

On my first trip to Glacier in the end of June, there was hardly anyone at Avalanche. I was able to get a great camping spot and had my pick of nearly the whole campground. Only a few campsites were taken. My neighbors ended of hiking to Arrow Lake (as I remember), got lost and ended up coming back at something like 9 the next morning. Crazy story but I don't remember the details. I think it was the following morning that I got up and left at 4 in the morning, was on Logan Pass before sunrise, and drove home (MN) the same day. (Slept on an on-ramp in ND for a couple hours.)

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Re: Campground Reservations

Post by PeteE »

I drove through Apgar and the Apgar CG Saturday afternoon on the way to Lake McDonald.
Pretty good crowd considering the weather. Looking like more of the same tomorrow.
Apgar was nearly full, at least Loop C was. Sprague CG was full.
Lake McDonald parking was close to full with people wandering around in the rain.
Avalanche CG not open yet but the parking was full with people walking around in the rain.

Here's 6 minutes of lame video.

https://photos.smugmug.com/GNP-Lame-Vid ... 9-1920.mp4

pete :wink:
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Re: Campground Reservations

Post by tibber »

from Pete:
Post 4 me plz? I got the LAST space at johnsons CG at 3pm today! ALL GNP CG's were full! Just saying for ppl coming this weekend thx pete
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Re: Campground Reservations

Post by HoustonHiker »

*** The Many Glacier Campground is hard-sided camping only due to bear activity *** ***The upper loop of Rising Sun Campground is closed due to bear activity.****

Many Glacier CG has been hard sided camping only for at least a week now. That might cause problems for those visiting the park soon.

You can find the latest parking and campground status here:

https://www.nps.gov/applications/glac/dashboard/
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Re: Campground Reservations

Post by Syrio »

I saw elsewhere online that someone called the park and they were told if you had reservations you'd be called a couple days in advance to discuss alternative options. This person said you could sleep in your car or be given a free site at Rising Sun or Two Medicine. Not sure how that would work now with part of Rising sun being closed.
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Re: Campground Reservations

Post by Geode »

We have reservations for Many Glacier CG in about a week, so we were hoping that the restriction would be lifted. We'll arrive at the park tomorrow, so we'll hit up one of the visitor centers and ask about alternative options.... hopefully it doesn't come to that.
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Re: Campground Reservations

Post by PeteE »

I just got back home.

The park is a zoo today. I came back via the GTTS road. Went through the St Mary entrance about 10AM.
Stopping along the way for pics I passed Logan Pass at 11AM. The parking lot entrance was blocked and Ranger was waving people by except for shuttles.
Virtually ever place one could pull over legally had cars parked there.

DO NOT park where you shouldn't because you WILL get ticketed, and it's expensive. I saw red tickets on many cars.
This is especially true in the Many Glacier area between the turn for the hotel and Swiftcurrent Inn.

If the parking at Apgar Visitor center, Logan Pass, St Mary Visitor Center, Many Glacier Hotel, or the Swiftcurrent Inn is your destination for the day...
You best arrive there as early as you possibly can.

Campers, if you do not have a reservation, you need to have a Plan B because camping spots are tough to get if you don't.
The web site information is necessarily always up top date. DO NOT count on it to be accurate.

I didn't know about the hard side camping restrictions until I read the posts above this morning.
That makes the situation for us tent campers even more difficult. So be aware of that situation.
I saw bears all over the place Thursday and Friday, and another grizzly near St Mary this morning.

Good luck everyone. Patience is a virtue these days! 8)

I'll have some pictures and videos later posted down in Photography. Might be this evening.
Gotta get my gear dried out and stowed. The weather sucked yesterday hiking back from Grinnell Glacier--wind, rain, hail, and sleet! Typical GNP weather 8)
I had some luck yesterday with big horn sheep, a nannie with twins, and a close encounter with young grizzly bear at 5-20yards :)
And this morning as I was breaking down my camp, I got some really fun video and pics of a tree swallow family who had a nest in my tent site at Johnson's. campground. :D

pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

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